This is a rather silly thought and really is something and nothing but I’ve been awake all night, again, and it’s the sort of thing I start to notice :-S

I was looking at the picture of the man holding the tablet on Parkinson’s UK’s homepage (the one with glasses and the random pink stripe behind him). I can’t hold a tablet like that to save my life. I can’t always guarantee that I can stand still so using a tablet while standing is not usually an option, and even if I can, one or both hands inevitably shake making it necessary to place the thing on the table and use it with whichever hand is behaving the best. I’ve become moderately proficient in using my left hand even though I am right handed, which helps, but on a bad day, my neck goes into spasm too which necessitates a strange sort of lying down pose in order to use my laptop.

Even taking into account my ongoing concerns about data protection, my current dependency on technology has left me with an increased understanding of its potential however this is more than matched by my utter frustration at the lack of adaptations/ accessibility options to help me use it more effectively.

I envy the random man in the picture - as great as technology is, if only tablets and touchscreens were that easy to use! Jx

I for one ( as a non PD carer) would find it really useful to know what techno- gizmos are out there that people find helpful which could help my OH use his tablet more easily, the computer etc. As his speech worsens, I am beginning to think we need to look into asssisted communication but have no idea where to start ( except Martin Pistorius…author of Ghost Boy, if anyone has ever heard of him ( not the athlete )

We have a dedicated page Making it easier to stay online which has some useful guidance and links to other trusted organisations such as AbilityNet that I hope you will find useful in exploring accessibility and adaption options for not only tablets but smartphones and PCs too.

Hi there. Just thought I would tell you about the Omoton Wireless keyboard £17.99 from Amazon. It works up to a 10m distance from your tablet (but you can’t see the screen from that far away). The keyboard is larger than that on your tablet and is therefore easier for typists to use and you aren’t crunching up your hand trying to hit individually keys with your index finger. I am finding it an absolute godsend.

I have tried the microphone to record emails etc but found that the technology isn’t quite up to understanding ends of sentences and new paragraphs so you spend quite a bit of time correcting what the system has written. It’s great for one sentence messages though.

A Roller ball mouse is also helpful as it doesn’t require you to press down quite so frequently.